Souderwan's Intellectual Retreat

Dear BB Housemates,

I'm going a little nuts with the absolute lack of intellectual discussion. I love the JCC, really I do. But, as you might have picked up, I occasionally have to post something that gets my intellectual juices cooking or I'll go nuts. We've reached my upper limit. We are now there. Rather than having me turn into an absolute nutter, I figured I'd create my retreat. Here, I ask you to post your deep thoughts (I understand, darth_boy, if this is an impossibility). I will read them and be happy.


Thanks,

Brian

 

If hot dogs are packaged in an 8 count from back when a typical family had 8 kids, why haven't the count in a hot dog package gone down to 2.5 now that the average family has only 2.5 children?

 

Because hot dog buns come in packages of 6. Carry on.

 

I was afraid that it was too much to ask.

In any case, US Unemployment steady at 4.5% with the creation of 132,000 new jobs (higher than expected). I'm quite pleased with the US economy overall.

 

I wonder what the median wage of those jobs is...

 

And when the federal government has to start paying back its debt, much of which is to the American people?

 

Contrary to popular belief, the median wage has a generally upward trend (as of 2005), consistently rising above the rate of inflation.

Any other questions?

 

This implies that the average consumer of today has more spending power than the average consumer of, say, five years ago. But how do cost of living trends compare with these rates?

 

Well, the very definition of inflation is a measure of how the cost of living increases over time, Suzi. So, the fact that the median wage increases at a greater rate than inflation means that at least half of the American people are better off than they were the year before.

It also means that half are not necessarily better off than they were the year before--this is what some would like to call the "disappearing middle class" when you say that the economy is doing well and they want to bash the President anyway. Glass half-empty/glass half-full kinda thing.

 

Now this is an interesting story! I'm fascinated by it. Makes me wonder what one on the outside would think about the economic indicies I've been thinking about. Too bad I'll never know.

 

On some occasions it wouldn't be too much to ask, but to be honest on this occasion, on this board, I don't feel in the least bit compelled to have a serious discussion.

 

Or, it means that ten percent is doing much better than the year before, and 90 percent a little worse. Play with the ratios however you like - disappearing middle class is a legitimate concern.

 

Fair enough.

I wouldn't say that it's not a legitimate concern at all. I'm merely pointing out that the argument (median wages) often used is wrong. Besides, it is fundamental to any capitalist society that the more free the market is, the greater the disparity between the richest and poorest will be. It is also true that the poorest (on average) will tend to be richer than they would be in a society that has a market that is less free.